A good internal card tends to be a bit faster (and a bit better with latency) than a good external card as it is hooked directly to the motherboard, meaning data transfer happens at a higher rate as opposed to USB or FW.

Now, we are talking really small differences here, and if you aren't doing any heavy lifting, an ext card should work just fine. But if you have a huge template, and you are attempting to play back many voices simul, you are in fact better off with an internal card.

A good internal card tends to be a bit faster (and a bit better with latency) than a good external card as it is hooked directly to the motherboard, meaning data transfer happens at a higher rate as opposed to USB or FW.

Now, we are talking really small differences here, and if you aren't doing any heavy lifting, an ext card should work just fine. But if you have a huge template, and you are attempting to play back many voices simul, you are in fact better off with an internal card.

Cheers.

Thanks for explaining that Jeff. Makes sense and I can see the advantage in a tight situation where resources are stretched. My FW interface can certainly act up a bit at those times though it certainly wasn't cheap!